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three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe; red represents the sun, victory, and the unity of the nation, white stands for purity, cotton, and mountain snows, while green is the color of Islam and the bounty of nature; the crown symbolizes the Tajik people; the seven stars signify the Tajik magic number "seven" - a symbol of perfection and the embodiment of happiness

The Pamir Mountains include some of the world's tallest peaks, soaring to heights of 7,300 m (24,000 ft ). Centered in eastern Tajikistan, the Pamirs - part of the "roof of the world" - are home to thousands of glaciers. Among them is Fedchenko, which at 77 km (47 mi) is the longest glacier outside of the Earth's polar regions. The melt waters of Fedchenko Glacier feed into the Muksu, Vakhsh, and Amu Darya Rivers before eventually making their way to the Aral Sea some 2,000 km (1,200 mi) away. In arid central Eurasia, the snow- and glacier-covered mountains serve as the region's water towers. Nearly 90% of the Central Eurasian population relies on water from the mountains for energy, agricultural, and drinking purposes.In this false-color image from 2 October 2011, the Fedchenko Glacier can be seen as it snakes its way northward from the western slopes of Independence Peak. The sparsely vegetated, arid mountains appear reddish-brown, while snow and ice are bright cyan. (Due to the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.) Throughout the glacier's 77 km course, it drops 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in elevation. At the highest elevations, the glacier is snow and ice covered; but as it flows downstream, it picks up rockfall debris. Reddish-hued debris lines running parallel to the flow direction begin about midway down the glacier's length. These medial moraines widen as the glacier descends. At its terminus, the glacier is completely covered by debris. Image courtesy of NASA.

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Near the center of this scene is the mountain lake Kara-Kul, located in eastern Tajikistan, high in the Pamir Mountain Range near the Afghan border. The 25-km (16-mi) diameter lake sits at an elevation of about 4,000 m (about 12,000 ft) above sea level. Kara-Kul was formed from a meteorite impact approximately 25 million years ago, leaving a crater with a rim diameter of 45 km (28 mi). Islands formed from the central uplift can be seen in the northern and southern parts of the lake. Interestingly, the Kara-Kul impact structure remained unidentified until it was discovered though studies of imagery taken from space. Photo courtesy of NASA.

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Introduction :: TAJIKISTAN

The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bands of indigenous guerrillas (called "basmachi") fiercely contested Bolshevik control of the area, which was not fully reestablished until 1925. Tajikistan was first created as an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan in 1924, but the USSR designated Tajikistan a separate republic in 1929 and transferred to it much of present-day Sughd province. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Tajikistan, and ethnic Tajiks an even larger minority in Uzbekistan. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and experienced a civil war between regional factions from 1992 to 1997. Tajikistan has endured several domestic security incidents since 2010, including armed conflict between government forces and local strongmen in the Rasht Valley and between government forces and criminal groups in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. In September 2015, government security forces rebuffed attacks led by a former high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense. President Emomali RAHMON, who came to power during the civil war, used the attacks to ban the main opposition political party in Tajikistan. In May 2016, RAHMON further strengthened his position by having himself designated "Leader of the Nation" with limitless terms and lifelong immunity through constitutional amendments ratified in a referendum. The referendum also lowered the minimum age required to run for president from 35 to 30, which would make RAHMON's son Rustam EMOMALI, eligible to run for president in 2020. The country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Tajikistan became a member of the WTO in March 2013. However, its economy continues to face major challenges, including dependence on remittances from Tajiks working in Russia, pervasive corruption, and the opiate trade emanating from neighboring Afghanistan.

A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by at least one-third of the total membership of both houses of the Supreme Assembly; adoption of any amendment requires a referendum, which includes approval by the president or approval by at least at least two-thirds of the Assembly of Representatives membership; passage in a referendum requires participation of an absolute majority of eligible voters and an absolute majority of votes; note – constitutional articles including Tajikistan’s form of government, its territory, and its democratic nature cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2016 (2017)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly

elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (unlimited terms); election last held on 6 November 2013 (next to be held in November 2020); prime minister appointed by the president

description: bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the National Assembly or Majlisi Milli (34 seats; 25 members indirectly elected by local representative assemblies or majlisi, 8 appointed by the president, and 1 reserved for the former president; members serve 5-year terms) and the Assembly of Representatives or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; 41 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by 2-round absolute majority vote and 22 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections: National Assembly - last held on 1 March 2015 (next to be held in 2020); Assembly of Representatives - last held on 1 March 2015 (next to be held in 2020)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and High Economic Court judges nominated by the president of the republic and approved by the National Assembly; judges of all 3 courts appointed for 10-year renewable terms with no limit on terms, but last appointment must occur before the age of 65

three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe; red represents the sun, victory, and the unity of the nation, white stands for purity, cotton, and mountain snows, while green is the color of Islam and the bounty of nature; the crown symbolizes the Tajik people; the seven stars signify the Tajik magic number "seven" - a symbol of perfection and the embodiment of happiness

Economy :: TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan is a poor, mountainous country with an economy dominated by minerals extraction, metals processing, agriculture, and reliance on remittances from citizens working abroad. The 1992-97 civil war severely damaged an already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Today, Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Less than 7% of the land area is arable and cotton is the most important crop. Tajikistan imports approximately 70% of its food. Mineral resources include silver, gold, uranium, antimony, and tungsten. Industry consists mainly of small obsolete factories in food processing and light industry, substantial hydropower facilities, and a large aluminum plant - currently operating well below its capacity.

Because of a lack of employment opportunities in Tajikistan, more than one million Tajik citizens work abroad - roughly 90% in Russia - supporting families back home through remittances that in 2014 were equivalent to nearly 50% of GDP. Some experts estimate the value of narcotics transiting Tajikistan is equivalent to 30%-50% of GDP.

Since the end of the civil war, the country has pursued half-hearted reforms and privatizations in the economic sphere, but the poor business climate remains a hurdle to attracting foreign investment. Tajikistan has sought to develop its substantial hydroelectricity potential through partnership with Russian, Iranian and Chinese investors, and is pursuing completion of the Roghun Dam - which, if built according to plan, would be the tallest dam in the world. However, the project is a sensitive issue for downstream neighbors and faces large financing shortfalls. In 2016, Tajikistan contracted with the Italian firm Salini Impregilo to build the dam over a 13-year period for $3.9 billion, and has yet to finance most of the project.

Recent slowdowns in the Russian and Chinese economies, low commodity prices, and currency fluctuations are hampering economic growth in Tajikistan. The dollar value of remittances from Russia to Tajikistan started showing small increases in 2017 after dropping by almost 65% in 2015. The government spent almost $500 million in 2016 to bail out the country’s banking sector, which is still troubled, and the government is facing challenges financing a public debt that is equivalent to approximately 50% of GDP. The National Bank of Tajikistan has aggressively spent its reserves to bolster the weakening somoni, leaving little space for fiscal or monetary measures to counter additional economic shocks.

general assessment: foreign investment in the telephone system has resulted in major improvements; conversion of the existing fixed network from analogue to digital was completed in 2012

domestic: fixed line availability has not changed significantly since 1998, while mobile cellular subscribership, aided by competition among multiple operators, has expanded rapidly; coverage now extends to all major cities and towns

international: country code - 992; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 3 (2 Intelsat and 1 Orbita); established a single gateway for Internet traffic in December 2015, which is expected to limit the connectivity of nonstate-owned telecom, Internet, and mobile companies (2016)

state-run TV broadcasters transmit nationally on 9 TV and 10 radio stations, and regionally on 4 stations; 31 independent TV and 20 radio stations broadcast locally and regionally; many households are able to receive Russian and other foreign stations via cable and satellite (2016)

18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; 2-year conscript service obligation; males required to undergo compulsory military training between ages 16 and 55; males can enroll in military schools from at least age 15 (2012)

Transnational Issues :: TAJIKISTAN

in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan sits on one of the world's highest volume illicit drug trafficking routes, between Afghan opiate production to the south and the illicit drug markets of Russia and Eastern Europe to the north; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; significant consumer of opiates